ANTHEMS for life's daily struggles

Alicia Keys has the golden voice, the undeniable looks, the charismatic performance style to be a full-scale, larger-than-life, hell-to-the-no diva.

But it won't happen. Instead, on her third album, "As I Am," Keys seems concerned with creating anthems for the rest of us, songs that help lead the way through the daily struggle.

Keys' album is like the soundtrack to build one of the rarest of personas in pop culture -- both impossible to top and down to earth. She has everything going for her, and yet you still feel the need to root for her.

Keys can sing, "Still put on a vest, with an 'S' on my chest, oh yes, I'm a superwoman" in "Superwoman," but still sound like the underdog. She uses a similar strategy in the achingly beautiful "Lesson Learned" as she declares, "Yes, I was burned, but I call it a lesson learned," while her backing singers reassure her, "It's all right, it's all right," and John Mayer adds his guitar work.

Even when Keys is at her most triumphant, in the powerful single "No One," she still sounds more like she is trying to psyche herself up for a fight rather than a boast when she sings, "No one will get in the way of what I'm feeling."

"As I Am" marks Keys' first fully formed work as a true artistic force, where her vision is clear from start to impressive finish.

"It's my time to shine," she declares in "That's the Thing About Love." Yes, it is.

Alicia Keys

"AS I AM''

RATING: 4 EXCLAMATION POINTS

[GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY]

HOT STREAKS

With "As I Am," Alicia Keys is set to join one of music's most elite clubs -- pop artists who have managed three successful albums in a row. [NEWSDAY]